Window-washing apparatus



May 8, 1923- J. C. G. BONNEY WINDOW WASHING APPARATUS Filed April 5.1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY A - ATTORNEY.

- May 8, 1923- 1,454,373

J. C. G. BONNEY W I NDOW WASH I N6 APPARATUS Filed April 5. 1921 2Sheets-Sheet 2.

' I I I min/Ton:

I momma I Patented May 8, 1923.

JOHN C. G. BONNEY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

WINDOW-WASHING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 5, 1921. Serial No. 458,822.

T all 20 hom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN C. G. BoNNEY, acitizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn,county of Kings, and

State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inWindow-Washing Apparatus, of which the following is a description.

This invention relates to devices for washing window panes, andparticularly has reference to a manually operated device adapted forsimultaneously washing both the inside and outside of the window panewithout reaching out of the window or leaning over the window sill.

Among the objects of my invention may be noted the following: to providea manually operated device which can be utilized for simultaneouslywashing both sides of the window pane; to provide a window washingdevice which can bequickly and easily manipulated and which is safe tothe operative, since the latter does not have to lean out of the windowor sit on the window sill; to provide a window washing device which ismanually operated and which will either wash or dry both the inside andthe outside of the window pane at the same time, thus facilitating thewashing and drying operations, and,

since both sides of the pane are operated on at one time, the operatoris able to see and remove all spots, smears and dirt, regardless ofwhether they are on the inside or the, out side of the window pane; toprovide a window washing device which is effective, simple, and can behandled with great facility so as to wash the window panes on both sidessafely and rapidly; to provide a window washing device which iseconomical to produce, durable and capable of being quickly adjusted tothe window sashes for the purposes stated in the foregoing.

With the above objects in View and others which will be detailed duringthe course of this description, my invention consists in the parts,features, elements and combinations thereof hereinafter described andclaimed.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have provideddrawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a'portion of a window frame and sash,showing my invention in operative position;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the form of my invention shown in Figure1, a part being broken away;

Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 2, a portion of a window pane beingshown in place; 7 t

Figure 4 is a plan view of another form of my invention, a part beingbroken away;

Figure 5 is a side view of Figure 4, a portion ofa window pane beingshown in place;

Figure 6 is a plan view of a third form of my invention;

Figure 7 is a plan VlGW, showing a fourth form of my invention; l

Figure 8 is a side View of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a sectional side view of a fifth form of my invention; and YFigure 10 is a sectional View substantially on the line 10-10 of Figure9.

My invention, embodied in a simple form i of'apparatus, is shown, forexample, in F igures l, 2 and 3 and, therein, a rectangular block 1 isprovided having opposite sides 2 inclined or converging toward eachother.

The inner edge of the block is provided with a recess 3 in whichismounted an anti-frictional roll .4, held in position by a screwbolt 5passing through the block 1 from top to bottom and spanning therecess'3, which bolt, in addition to supporting the anti-frictional roll4, and affording a journal therefor, has the function of imposingtension, as presently described. Applied to'the block 1', on theopposite'inclined sides 2 thereof are a pair of resilient bars 6, theinclination of the surfaces 2 of the block causing the said bars tonormally tend to converge toward each other so that, attheir free ends,they would be very nearly in contact. The

block and bars may be made of any suitable material, preferably wood,although light metal may be found suitable and serviceable for some ofthe parts.

Th free 'ends of' the converging bars 6 are each provided with arectangular pad holder 7 one of which, the outside one, is of slightlygreater width than the other one, this being for the purpose ofenabling'the outside pad to reach into-all the corners and to theextremes of the window pane, and also for the purpose ofcompensating'for the drag imposed upon the outside pad which may resultin lateral flexure of the outside bar of the device,'the drag beingimflexed away from each other,

posed by the friction of the pad upon the window pane, and the fact.that the outside bar is .compelled .ito vfollow the inside bar withoutpositive pressure being applied directly thereto. The pad holders arerigidly secured in the ends of the bars 6"by screws 8 passing throughthe said bars and into the extension 9 of the holders. The shape of thepad holders 7 is preferably rectangular in order that, when inoperation, the angles thereofmay reach into and :clean and polish theangles or co rn ers :of the window panes. The pad holders 7 arepreferably made of light :wood; but, they of nietaliand formed of oneiormore pieces. In either instance, it may be desirable to cover the padholders with rubber 10, see Figure 9, in :order *to .preserve the woodand prevent it from warping, in the one instance, and prevent the metalfrom rusting, in :the1other instance. The pad holders 7 are covered withcloth caps or pads 11 made of :any suitable material and of any desiredthickness, and formed in any manner found efficacious and economical.Whatever may bethe material or form (of the pads, when applied to theholders 7, "they will take the form ofthe latter substantially as shownin Figures 1 to 3. The caps or pads may be made :of elastic materialwhich normally will contract upon the holders when applied thereto,-soas to cling thereto during opera tion. lf the material of the caps orpads is not normally elastic, they may be provided with atie-cord orother equivalent means for retaining the same on the holders. Or, asshown in Figures land 5, the outer surfaces of the holders may beprovided with spring clamps, the same being adapted to engage and pressupon theedges of the caps or pads placed on the holders. The said clampsmay consist of a base 12 rigidly secured to the holler, having a aw 13hinged thereto, controlled by a coiled'spring 14, this being a simpleform of clamp readily applied to the outside .of the blocks for thepurpose'ofholding the caps or pads in position. Four clamps be providedon each holder.

At itspad end, the apparatus is preferably provi'ded-with a'handle 15,the same being secured in any suitable manner to one of the bars 6 andarched sufficiently, as shown in Figures '1 and 3, to enable theoperator to rea'dily grasp the same and manipulate the apparatus.

As previously-stated, the bars 6 are 'norreason of the manner in whichthey are mounted, converge toward each other almostto contact at theirfree ends. V /hen the pad holders are mounted therein, however, the barsare giving 'them Figures 3 and 5, the holders and the curved form :shownin wh1ch imposes tenslon upon be stamped out v pads and causes thelatter, when operating upon the window panes, to forclblypress againstthe opposite sides of the w ndow pane so as to produce SllfilOlGIltfrictlon to either clean, or dry and polish, the panes s1- multaneouslyon both sides. When the caps or pads are applied to the holders, thearms are sprung apart, as will be readily understood, the application ofthe pads being accomplished quickly and with facility. hen the windowshave been washed on both sides by the use of wet pads, the latter can bequickly removed and dry pads substituted therefor. As many wet pads canbe used as desired, and likewise as many drying or polishing pads as maybe found ,necessary. Instead of removing the pads and substitutingothers, the pad holders themselves may be removable, so that, afterusing wet pads, other pad holders with dry pads thereon can be quicklysubstituted for the holders having the wet pads thereon. In order toavoid scratching the window sash, or wearing the paint or varnishtherefrom, and also to .avoid wear upon the bars ,6, soft .pads of felt,for example, can be applied to the inner'surfaces of the bars '6, asindicated at 6, Figure 5. Thus the window sash is preserved and wearupon ,the bars 6, which might tend to weaken them, is prevented. Theanti-frictional roll 4:, mounted in the crotch of the device, is adaptedto travelon the upper and lower edges of the sash during the process ofwashing the window, as shown in Figure 1, said roller avoiding friction,binding, etc, and facilitating the travel of the apparatus duringoperation.

The block 1, at its outer end, has secured thereto a plate 16, to theopposite edges of which a tension bar 17 is hinged, as at 16. thesameextending along ,the outer surface of each of the bars 6. At its innerend, each of the tension bars 17 is provided with a transverselyextended, enlarged portion or bar 19, projecting inwardly from the innersurface of the tension bar and adapted to press on the outer surface ofthe bar 6. The screw-bolt 5 passes through the two tension bars, itshead 20 pressing on one tension bar and the knurled nut 21 pressing uponthe other, and, by turning the nut, is adapted to cause the tension barsto bear with. moreor less of pressure upon the bars 6, thus increasingas desired the normal tension of said bars and the tension imposed bythem and the pads upon the window pane being cleaned.

Inthe form of my inventionshown in Figures land 5, the ,pad holders areremovable and may be secured in place in theends of the'bars ,6by ,meansof .a pin 22 carried by aspring 23 secured to the outer surface of thebar adjacent the aperture therein, the pin 22 entering an aperture inthe side of the angular teat or lug 24 of the pad holders, which teatpasses through an aperture.

37, enabling the holders 34 to be removed.

in the arm 6.

Instead of the spring pin shown, the pad holders may be removably heldby a cotterpin 25 passing through the angular teat 24 of the padholders, as shown in Figure 6, a chain or similar device 25 beingemployed to hold the cotter-pin and prevent it from being dropped andlost, the chain being secured by means of an eye-screw 25 to the bar 6.

Still another way of making the pad holders removable is shown inFigures 9 and 10, wherein the blocks are also shown as stamped out ofsheet metal. In this form of my invention, the holders are composed of aflat, flanged member 26, to Which is secured a cymbal shaped member 27,the circumference of which is held in place by overturning the flange ofthe member 26. The member 27 is provided witha hollow teat Or extension28, which passes through the aperture in each of the bars 6 and isremovably held in place by spring detents consisting of a hollow,rectangular boxing 29 secured within the teat 28 by soldering. Theboxing 29 holds a coiled expansion spring 30, the opposite ends of whichpress against detents 31 having rounded end surfaces 32, and held inplace by flanges 33 at the open ends of teats 28 to prevent them fromfalling out of the boxing 29. Pressure upon the detents 31, when theteats are slipped into place, will cause the detents to recede. Theywill automatically spring into holding position shoWn in Figure 9. Toremove the pad holders, pressure is applied to the rounded ends 32 ofthe detents 31, either simultaneously or one at a time, and the teats 28can then be slipped out of position shown in Figure 9, and the padholders removed by pressure upon the same, the detents yielding untilthe teats are sufliciently Withdrawn.

In the form of my invention shown in Figures 7 and 8, the pad holders 34are shown in flat form, rectangular in shape, and of molded, pressed orshaped material and may be made of any composition found suitable forthe purpose. Each of the pad holders 34 is provided with a member 35having its upper surface rounded so as to permit the holder to rocklengthwise of the bars 6, but not transversely. The members 35 aresecured to the holders 34 by means of a plurality of screws 36, forexample, thus rigidly securing the two parts together. The members 35are provided on opposite sides with lugs or ears 37 which may be securedin place by screws 38, and which extend through apertures provided forthem in the arms 6. A spring holder 39 is provided with oppositelyextending arms 40 passing through apertures in the upper ends of thelugs or ears 37, thus loosely and removably securing the pad holders tothe arms 6.

Pressure on the branched legs of the holders 39 will remove the arms 40from the ears Thus the pad holders 34, by reason of the form of themembers 35, can rock lengthwise of the bars 6, but cannot rock or tiltlaterally of the latter. In order to prevent the lossof the holders39,they may be loosely, secured to the end of the bar 6 by means of astaple 39 driven into the bar and through the eye of the holder.

In each form of my device a handle 15 is provided, and in each formipadsmay be app-lied to the holders with. facility, either by stretching themon or by clamping on, as shown-in Figures 4 and 5. In all the forms ofmy invention, excepting that shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the padholders are removable and may be quickly removed and applied, wheneverfound desirable, either for substitution of aholder with a dry pad or aholder with a wet pad, or for removing the pads from the holders. The

tension on the pane of glass or surface be ing cleaned, dried orpolished can be increased or decreased by manipulating the nut 21; andthe entire apparatus is readily and easily manipulated by grasping thehandle 15. The anti-frictional roll 4 will prevent the apparatus fromdragging on the top or bottom bars of the sash; and the latter may beraised and lowered to any extent desired during operation. Wet pads, drypads and polishing pads can be quickly substituted the one for the otheras occasion demands, or sets of holders with. the pads applied can besupplied with an apparatus so that one or the other can be stituted. 1

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple,compact, durable apparatus which is economical toproduce and by means ofwhich window panes and other suspended surfaces can be cleaned, washed,scoured of polished simultaneously on both sides and quickly and withfacility. The length of the apparatus will be such as to reach beyondthe middle of the surface which is to be operated upon, so that thelower half can be scoured or polished and then the upper half by simplyreversing the position of the apparatus shown in Figure 1; and theapparatus will be made of different sizes, so as to operate inconnection with difierent sizes of windowpanes or other surfaces to bescoured, cleaned or polished. The antifrictional roll runs with greatfacility along the edge of the window sash. either top or bottom,according to which part of the window pane is being operated upon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLet ters Patent is:

1. In a window cleaning device, a supquickly subp rting 121 01,: heappsde o hiQh are inclined so as to converge'toward each her, resi entarms secure at their n r end to the inclined sides oil said block sothat their free ends converge toward each other, padeholders secured tothe free ends of the arms, and means applied to the arms for increasingthe tension of the arms so as to increase the pressure of the pads uponthe Window-panes,

2. In a Window cleaning device, a supporting block, resilient armssecured at one end to the block and at their free end provided with anaperture, pad-h0lders each provided with a lug for passing through theaperture in the free end of the arm, and resilient means for detachablyholding the pad to the arm.

3. A device such as set forth in claim 2, wherein the pad-holders are ofdifferent dimensions, for the purpose set forth.

4:. In a Window cleaning device, a supporting bloc-k, resilient armssecured at one end to; said block and having their opposite end tree,pad-holders for said free end each having its back rounded so that itmay rock relatively to the arm, and means for detachablyf securing thepad-holders to the arms.

5. In a Window cleaning device, a supporting block, resilient armssecured at one end to said bl ck and having their opposite end free,pad-holders secured to the free end of each arm, and means for applyingtension to the arms including tension bars hinged at opposite sides ofthe block and extending along and bearing upon the arms, and ascrew-bolt passing through the arms and block and having means forregulating the tension on the bars.

6. In a Window cleaning device, a supporting block, resilient armssecured at one end to the block and at their free end provided with padholders, pads carried by the holders, means causing the arms tonormallyforce the pads toward each other, and pads applied to the inner surfaceof the arms between the supporting block and pad holders.

JOHN G. G. BONNEY.

